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Sunday, September 30, 2007

The Browns won again

Well, that was a convincing victory.
The Browns beat the bejeesus out of the Ravens this afternoon, about a week after I gave them up for dead when the lost to Oakland. Maybe there's more to this team than I thought.
After the big Cincinnati win, and then the last-second oakland loss, I figured here we are on a march to get another high draft pick (which the Bornws already traded to Dallas.) I'd just as soon send Dallas a really low pick, but I doubt that will happen.

Monday, September 24, 2007

Another Week Old Post

(I meant to post this after the Browns beat the Bengals 51-45.)

Cue the theme from "Twilight Zone."
Pan the camera in from the side, focus on Rod Serling standing in front of an empty Dawg Pound in Cleveland Browns stadium. It is quiet, but in the background a man from the cleanup crew is picking up cups, plates and a Bengals jersey with "85"on the back.
Serling begins to speak:

"What did we learn Sunday about the Cleveland Browns?
"We learned
Their defense still isn't really that good.
Joshua Cribbs is a very good special teams player (but we already knew that).
Derek Anderson can win as a starting quarterback in the NFL.
The Browns offense, given the opportunity, really does have some explosiveness.
The players have a lot of character, to come back from the crushing loss in game one, and the unexpected trade of their starting quarterback the day after and the general confusion surrounding the team since training camp began.
"Perhaps more importantly, what didn't we learn? We didn't learn whether or not these Browns will be a particularly good team for the rest of the season, freed from Sunday's trip through the Twilight Zone."

Week Old Post

(I meant to post this a week ago, but ...)

Context, context, context.
I haven’t read too much about Kathy Griffin’s censored comments upon winning a Cable Emmy. Apparently, The E! Network has decided not to air her acceptance speech because while accepting an award, she said, according to the Associated Press, which I have to use because I haven’t seen the actual speech:

“Griffin said that ‘a lot of people come up here and thank Jesus for this award. I want you to know that no one had less to do with this award than Jesus.’“She went on to hold up her Emmy, make an off-color remark about Christ and proclaim, "This award is my god now!’"

I believe the off-color remark was, “Suck it, Jesus,” according to other sources who must have seen the tape.
The question isn’t whether Griffin’s comments are offensive. Of course they are, and she knew it when she made them. For someone to say that and not think people would be offended would be at best naive and at worst hopelessly stupid. She probably intended to offend people, and generate publicity, when she said what she said.
The real question is: How offensive was what she said?
In context, perhaps not as offensive as one might think.
Griffin is known for being outrageous and saying outrageous things. That’s what got her on TV; gave her her own cable show, “My Life on the D-List;” and got her considered as a permanent host on “The View.”
Last season, when she didn’t win the Emmy, she threw a comedic temper tantrum, and screamed, ''I was robbed and you all know it! Everybody can suck it!"
Further, a recent stand-up comedy show that aired on Bravo, the same network at “D-List,” was titled “Suck It.”
So, what she said was a running joke, albeit one taken to another level.
Further, and on this point I have to agree with Griffin, how many hypocritical people who pay no attention to their religion 99 and 44/100 percent of the time, and then get up and thank Jesus for helping them win an award?
Does God really care about the Cable Emmys? (How often do sports figures thank God for winning a game? Does God care if you scored a touchdown on overtime to win a preseason NFL game? If so, what does that say about the cornerback you burned on a deep pass pattern? If God loves you by letting you score, is that cornerback going to Hell?)
So, how offensive was what she said? Pretty offensive. Does context make it less offensive? Probably not to most people who were offended.
But, it does make more sense why she said it.
Does it make sense to know where the joke came from and the circumstances as to why she said it before condemning her to the same fate as the cornerback who blew the coverage? Yes.

Friday, September 14, 2007

Is it weird ...

... to be able to continually play -- and enjoy -- the same computer baseball game for five years?

I have a game I got in 2002 (Season Ticket Baseball 2003) that's all about being a general manager and making trades and growning minor league players into major league ones. For some reason, I can sit down and continue to run my team from season to season without ever getting permanently bored.

I suppose it's one of the games that never ends. No matter what, there's a new season and some younger players to develop and work into the lineup.

Well, I am going to sign off. I have to decide if it's time to switch teams again. My current team has won the World Series two times in a row.

Wednesday, September 12, 2007

Charlie, we hardly knew ye

I really wanted Charlie Frye to succeed, and I am really upset about the Cleveland Browns handled this situation, trading him after he started the first game of the season and got clobbered. I just don't see why they didn't trade or release Frye weeks ago. It would have given everyone clarity throughout training camp. I have rarely seen a team handle a quarterback controversy so badly, in a way that doesn't seem to help anyone.

Did it make Charlie Frye any better? No. He was named the starter, but never got a full chance to do the job.
Did it make Derek Anderson any bettter? No. He gets to be the starter now without the benefit of a preseason of preparing to be one.
Did it make Brady Quinn any better? No. He just gets jostled about and will eventually become some new beef for the Browns' quarterback meat grinder.
Did it make Ken Dorsey any better? No. He had very little practice time in training camp and ultimately got released by the Browns before they brought him back.

I would have thought better of this organization, that they would have made a solid plan after the draft and stuck to it. It reminds me of the difference of opinion the Indians brass had about Brandon Phillips, and we see how that turned out. The difference is, the Indians had enough talent to overcome that misstep. I am not so sure the Browns can afford do the same thing.

That said, it leads me to wonder if there's some serious friction among the team's leadership that's pulling the team in different directions. If so, are we looking at yet another house cleaning before next season?